Lap of My Mind Challenge

Lap of My Mind is an epic relay of 10 riders cycling a non-stop lap round the UK in just 20 days. With almost guaranteed bad weather, we are doing it the hard way! Starting on the Clifton Suspension Bridge on 1st December 2018 and finishing on December 21st – the darkest day of the year.

One of four challenges

Lap of My Mind is one of four Mind Over Mountain challenges to help raise awareness and change the perception of mental health.

To get the highest awareness, these challenges culminate in a high-profile, World Record attempt to cycle higher than anyone ever!

Challenge 1

Jun 2018

Mont Blanc

4810m

Ride La Tour du MB

Summit Climb

MB Race - Hardest in World

Challenge 2

Dec 2018

Lap of My Mind

4,500 miles

10 riders

Cycling lap of UK

20 days non-stop

Challenge 3

Jan 2019

Aconcagua

6980m

Summit Climb

With bikes

Challenge 4

May 2020

Summit climb

Highest cycle ever

World Record

For Mind Over Mountain to break the World Record, we need to raise funds to cover our costs. Funds that will ultimately help to raise substantially greater amounts for Mind and Calm.

Your generous contributions to Lap of My Mind will be divided with two thirds going to mental health charities Mind and Calm. The remaining third will go directly to help the Mind Over Mountain World Record attempt.

A few of the team

Ian Walker

Ian is an environmental psychologist working at the University of Bath. He used to be an ultrarunner, but then completely hung up his running shoes once he discovered how much bigger the adventures can be on a bike. He has completed the Transcontinental Race and finished in first place in the 4300 km North Cape race in 2018.

Jason Woodhouse

Jason is based in the North East of England and is a previous finisher of the Trans Am Bike Race, Italy Divide and TransAtlantic Way Race focussing himself on distance epics after an attempt on the 2012 World Cycle Race. He’s a keen paddleboarder, diver and enthusiastic about grilled cheese.

Mike Hancock

Been mountain biking for 20 years; first 10 spent down hilling in the Scottish SDA series, the next 5 spent socially riding and recovering from the first 10, and the last 3 spent trying to be an endurance racer including Solo Strathpuffer, Relentless, WEMBO Finale, Yak Attack Himalaya’s and Rumble in the Jungle Sri Lanka. (There’s a missing 2yrs when I thought I was a runner, and ran 2 half marathons, 3 marathons and placed 10th at the Gobi March, China, 155mile desert run – quickly came to senses and jumped back on the MTB)

Naomi Freireich

Naomi is an IT Project Manager from Edinburgh. She has two children, two step children and one very understanding husband! She is the current European and UK 24-hour Mountain Bike Champion and athlete for GORE® Wear and sponsored by USE/Exposure Lights. In her spare time (yes, she still has a little) she like nothing more than heading outside for another crazy adventure.

Zara Mair

Zara Mair is a Solicitor from Edinburgh who loves riding bikes! She is an endurance mountain bike racer who is regularly seen occupying the top step of the podium. Zara was part of the record-breaking Adventure Syndicate team who completed The North Coast 500, a 516-mile route around the Highlands of Scotland in 36 hours straight. She loves adventure and riding her bike whilst heavily sleep deprived!

Steve Day

Having grown up on BMX’s and moto-x bikes, mountain bikes and motorcycles are now my passions that get squeezed in around family & work. I have been fortunate that my cycling has taken me and my family to some lovely places around the UK and the world to explore and race in, resulting in two WEMBO Single Speed 24-hour World Championship jerseys in New Zealand and Italy.

Riding as part of the Lap of My Mind team means a lot to me… Firstly an opportunity to support Jon Fearne in his series of challenges for Mind Over Mountain, but also to help support the great work Mind do having seen how mental health issues can impact people’s lives. Jon has played a major part in my success over the last few years and it’s great to be able to reciprocate in some way.

Alex Watts

I started riding around the Malvern Hills where I grew up and had a bash at a few races in the late 80s and early 90s, where brakes were notional, and the Classic was the race to set your calendar by. This was before a 20-year research mission into beer, ciggies and late nights (not exactly squandered time). I absolutely love riding my bike and never want to stop doing it. I now work as a HART Paramedic, and like 1 in 4 adults have suffered a bout of clinical depression, which was horrendous. After which I have been doing all I can to help others suffering the same misfortune. I am a Mind Blue Light Champion and do my best to support my colleagues.

Max Suttie

I’ve been around bikes most of my life and spent most of my teenage years on a trials motorbike or mountain bike. At university I decided to take cycling a bit more seriously and entered a series of local races before racing my first 24hr race in 2012. I then spent the next few years racing XCO and the occasional endurance race, before committing to the World 24hr Championships in 2017. After focussing on endurance cycling, the adventure has been fantastic, and I now hold 2x British Champion 24hr Jerseys, and a World Age group 24hr Jersey. The massive mental aspect of endurance cycling and 24hr racing is something we all have felt as athletes as the depths endurance racing takes you both physically and mentally are huge, so supporting MIND and MOM with a monumental cycling challenge seems a truly fitting way to raise money for a great cause.

Matt Jones

Matt is one of the UK’s top mountain bike endurance athletes and has won national and European titles in his specialism, 24-hour racing. Matt likes to plan big rides so thinking up LOMM was no exception. He will be doing his leg in memory of his gran who he lost in 2018 after suffering from mental health issues for a number of years.